Sheets of composite materials that contain fibers in a thermoplastic resin matrix are useful as plies in the manufacture of composite laminate panels. The fibers are disposed in a polymeric matrix material to form a composite sheet. Various methods are known in the art by which the fibers in a sheet of composite material may be disposed in, and encapsulated by, the polymeric matrix material, including, for example, a doctor blade process, lamination, pultrusion, extrusion, etc. The fibers may be longitudinally oriented (that is, they are aligned with each other), and continuous along the length of the ply. The fibers can also be chopped and longitudinally oriented relative to one another. A sheet of composite material may be characterized as “unidirectional” in reference to the generally uniform longitudinal orientation of the fibers therein.
The width of a composite material sheet has typically been limited based on such factors as difficulty in controlling fiber distribution, as well as the width of traditionally used processing machinery. In addition, composite laminates include multiple plies that when stacked on top of one another can cause the fibers in different plies to have different angular orientations relative to one another. Composite laminates are generally assembled in discrete processes, by stacking individual plies of composite material with fibers in cross-wise relation to each other, and bonding the stack into a single sheet.